Wildfire near Blue Ridge Parkway mostly under control

It was a smoky sunset in many parts of north and east Asheville on Wednesday, Nov. 28. The smoke was from a fire, which, according to firefighters on the scene, was started by construction work on a house site.

The fire was first reported around 2:30 p.m. and was mostly under control by dark. Firefighters from area departments including Asheville, Beaverdam, Reems Creek, Reynolds and the N.C. Forest Service walked in to fight the fire on foot. A large portion of the blaze was extinguished using a back fire, which is a common wild-land fire suppression technique. Around 7-10 acres were involved, according to a firefighter at the scene.

The construction site was near the top of Webb Cove Road, above the Beaverdam area, before the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are homes in the area, but none of them were threatened by this fire.